13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party

1987 Chinese Communist Party conference 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party 中国共产党第十三次全国代表大会 cn Flag of the Chinese Communist Party (Pre-1996).svg 250px CCP flag The flag of the Chinese Communist Party before 1996 1987 10 25 1987 11 01 Great Hall of the People, Beijing, China 12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (1982) 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party (1992) 1,936 delegates Election of the 13th Central Committee and 13th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Zhao Ziyang (Leader of the Chinese Communist Party) 中国共产党第十三次全国代表大会 中國共產黨第十三次全國代表大會 Zhōngguó Gòngchǎndǎng Dìshísāncì Quánguó Dàibiǎo Dàhuì Abbreviation 十三大 Shísān Dà The 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing from 25 October to 1 November 1987. It was preceded by the 12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and was succeeded by the 14th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party.http://www.generexpo.com/GB/64162/64168/64566/index.html 共产党新闻网—资料中心—历次党代会 www.generexpo.com 2016-11-07 2016-11-08 https://web.archive.org/web/20161108145758/http://www.generexpo.com/GB/64162/64168/64566/index.html dead It was attended by 1,936 delegates and 61 'specially invited' delegates representing more than 46 million party members and included 200 foreign journalists who were invited to attend the opening and closing ceremonies.The Rise of Modern China Hsu Immanuel Oxford University Press 2000 978-0-19-512504-7 Sixth New York 888–895中国共产党第十三次全国代表大会 https://www.gov.cn/test/2007-08/29/content_730426.htm 2024-10-15 www.gov.cn 2024-12-02 https://web.archive.org/web/20241202175613/https://www.gov.cn/test/2007-08/29/content_730426.htm dead In addition, the Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress and the CPPCC National Committee, representatives from the National Federation of industry and commerce, non-party people, ethnic minorities and religious people were invited to this congress as audience. The congress reaffirmed the correctness of the policy of reforms and the Open Door that was adopted during the Third Plenum of the 11th Congress in December 1978. It also saw the rejuvenation of the party leadership as veterans from the Long March retired and was replaced by younger and better educated technocrats. Agenda The agenda for the Congress was as follows: (1) To review and adopt the report of the 12th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. (2) To review the report made by the Advisory Committee of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. (3)To review the report made by Commission of Discipline Inspection of the Central Committee. (4) To adopt the recommend amendments to the Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party. (5) Election of the 13th CCP Central Committee, the CCP Central Committee Advisory Committee and the CCP Central Committee for Discipline Inspection Commission. Significance of the Congress Personnel change Deng Xiaoping personally orchestrated the retirement of more than 90 party elders who were critics of market-oriented reforms adopted in the process of his Four Modernizations.http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/252/5089/5105/5277/20010429/455904.html 中国共产党新闻, 社论:走向未来的新起点 www.people.com.cn 2016-11-08 2020-04-30 https://web.archive.org/web/20200430162609/http://www.people.com.cn/GB/shizheng/252/5089/5105/5277/20010429/455904.html dead The elders included Peng Chen, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress; Chen Yun, leading party economist; Hu Qiaomu, harsh critic of bourgeois liberalism and Li Xiannian, the President of China. Deng himself relinquished all of his positions except his chairmanship of the Military Commission through a special party constitutional amendment. Zhao Ziyang was arranged to become the first vice-chairman of the Central Military Commission with Yang Shangkun as its permanent vice-chairman.Reaves Joseph A. China begins new era under Zhao https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1987-11-03-8703220605-story.html 7 December 2020 Chicago Tribune 3 November 1987 The new 285 member Central Committee consisted of 175 regulars and 110 alternate members. Around 150 aged leaders (43%) of the previous 348 members Central Committee failed to win reelection. Hua Guofeng was noted to have retained his membership in the central committee. Average age of the new ruling was 55.2 years, down from the 59.1 of its predecessor. 87 of the full and alternate members were new, and 209 (73%) of all Central Committee members were college educated.Beijing Review Reports Beijing Review 30 November 1987 16–22 The Politburo, with 17 regulars and 1 alternate member, was also packed with younger supporters of reform. Although nine of the 20 previous members retired, former General Secretary Hu Yaobang along with Vice-Premiers Wan Li and Tian Jiyun retained their memberships. The Standing Committee saw the election of Zhao Ziyang, Li Peng, Qiao Shi, Hu Qili and Yao Yilin. Although most elders had relinquished their official positions in the party, their influence did not falter. Their willingness to retire was probably made with the understanding that their favorite choice, Li Peng, would be appointed to the Politburo Standing Committee as well as to the future premiership. Barely three weeks after the close of congress, Li was named acting premier, and later in the National People's Congress in March 1988, confirmed as premier.China without Mao: The Search for a New Order Hsu Immanuel Oxford University Press 22 March 1990 9780198022657 227 The 13th National Congress was notable because women were entirely absent from the highest levels of the party, leader such as Zhao Ziyang strongly opposed the participation of women in the political process.Judd Ellen R. The Chinese Women's Movement 2002 Stanford University Press Private Collection 0-8047-4406-8 175 The primary stage of socialism In his speech, Zhao Ziyang stated that "Reform is the only process through which China can be revitalized. It is a process which is irreversible and which accords with the will of the people and the general trend of events." Building socialism with Chinese features, Zhao announced, was an experiment that could not possibly have been foreseen by 19th-century European theorists. The central task of proclaiming market reforms was due to the fact of the widespread poverty and backwardness that existed throughout China. The Chinese leadership reconciled to the idea that market mechanisms and central planning were both "neutral means and methods that do not determine the basic economic system of a society".https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-10-24-mn-4102-story.html New Leaders, Reforms to Be Weighed at Chinese Party Congress David Holly 24 October 1984 Los Angeles Times Periodical 9 November 2016 Hence an adoption of capitalist techniques and management skills in a mixed economy through multi-ownership system was permissible at that stage.October 2024 Overall significance The 13th Party Congress was remarkable in several ways. It launched China into accelerated economic development, ensuring a leadership succession as elder party members voluntarily resigned in favor of younger leaders, and fitting Marxism into "a new reality to fit reality" rather than bending "reality to theory".China Now Changing Rules and Ruling Party Henry Kissinger 25 October 1987 Los Angeles Times Periodical However concerns remains over several issues. First, the resignation of party elders did not mean that reformers could get along with reforms right away since these elders still held immense influence over the party. Secondly, Deng has arranged Zhao to be the First Vice-Chairman of the Central Military Commission without the assurance that he would succeed Deng as the leader of China. Third, accelerated economic development and greater opening for foreign influences would revive old questions of "spiritual pollution", "bourgeois liberalization," and the perennial issue of "Chinese essence vs. foreign value." Fourth, separation of party functions from the government and economic enterprises would affect the vested interests of millions. Lastly, the supremacy of the Four Cardinal Principles prohibited any rule other than the CCP and any freedom beyond what was permitted by the party. Overall, the Congress was a distinct success as it represented a consensus among disparate leaders to move the country forward economically but democracy, pluralism and human rights were issues were left unresolved. References Category:13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party Category:1987 conferences Category:1987 in Beijing Category:October 1987 in China Category:November 1987 in China Category:1980s political conferences